Canoe Memorial

Images Whakatane. May 2009. Ajr

I arrived in Whakatane early in the morning and took time out of my travels for a quick look around town. I drove passed the Whakatane boat ramp and found myself at this pretty spot on the coast. The above plaques, on the side of the rocky outcrop shown in the top image, are a memorial to the Matatua Canoe. Just so you have a clear reading, the memorial was erected on March 16, 1940 by the Matatua tribes, to commemorate the historic landing on this sandy spot, of the Matatua Canoe, one of the main fleet of the Maori migration from Hawaiki in the year 1340 AD, after a voyage of 2,000 miles under the guidance of famous chief and navigator, Toroa.